Police set to file cases vs EdLab riders organizers, shoe store owners
Mass gathering of Edlab Riders at the Plaza Independencia on November 8, 2020. | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) is set to file formal complaints today, Thursday (November 19, 2020) against various individuals who reportedly violated health protocols here.
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Police Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla, CCPO’s deputy director for operations, announced in a press conference on Thursday November 19, that they will be lodging cases against the organizers of the EdLab Riders and the owners of a shoe shop along Sanson Road in Barangay Lahug which held a shoe sale last November 11.
Both incidents, held separately, resulted in huge crowds gathering, one at the Plaza Independencia and the other within the vicinities of Sanson Street and Gorordo Avenue in Barangay Lahug.
“We will be filing the cases today as we have already secured documents and affidavits in support,” said Parilla in Cebuano.
Parilla said the respondents will be facing formal complaints for violating Article 151 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) or disobedience to authorities.
“This is in relation to the EO (executive order) of the mayor that prohibits large gatherings and violations of health protocols, particularly in social distancing,” he added.
Habal-habal (motorcycle-for-hire) drivers who claimed to be supporters of Mayor Edgardo Labella gathered in Plaza Independencia last November 8, 2020.
RELATED STORY: Labella on Edlab riders gathering: Supporters are not exempted from the law
Photos of the event circulated on social media when netizens called out the ‘unfair treatment’ between it and the crowd in an 11.11 sale of a shoe store in Barangay Lahug last November 11.
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When asked why it took a week for the police to file cases against the organizers and owners, Parilla said they were getting more affidavits from witnesses to ‘make an airtight case’.
“We are confident that these cases are solid,” he added in Cebuano.
/bmjo
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